Original articleCatchment-based water management in the mining industry: Challenges and solutions
Introduction
In 2015, the World Economic Forum ranked water crises as the top global systemic risk in terms of impact (World Economic Forum, 2015). Historically, mining companies had limited engagement in water management and policy, primarily negotiating with governments to secure access to the water needed for operations (Kunz and Moran, 2014). However the responsible use and management of water are now a crucial component of sustainability strategy and a key performance indicator within sustainability reports (BHP Billiton, 2012, Rio Tinto Alcan, 2011).
Most of the water goals currently articulated by mining companies focus on eco-efficiency initiatives within the mine-lease boundary, e.g. reducing the overall volume of freshwater consumed and increasing the use and reuse of low quality water. However, there is growing pressure for companies to adopt a proactive role in addressing water management challenges beyond their operational fence line (Barrett, 2009, Kemp et al., 2010, Kunz and Moran, 2014). This is most recently reflected in ICMM’s 2014 Water Stewardship Framework (ICMM, 2014b) which encourages member companies to “Understand the social, cultural, economic and environmental value of water at the catchment scale to identify material water stewardship risks and provide context for corporate and operational water management”. The adoption of a “watershed” or “catchment-based” approach is also promoted by business associations, NGOs and UN agencies beyond the mining industry (IPIECA, 2013, UN Global Compact, 2011, WBCSD, 2013).
While these aspirations represent a positive step towards greater accountability by mining companies on water issues, challenges may be faced when implementing a catchment-based approach at the mine site level. In particular, there are similarities with the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which has been committed to by many governments around the world (Pollard and du Toit, 2008, Sullivan, 2014). However, despite its international prominence, critics contend that IWRM has not been implemented effectively (Biswas, 2008, Hering and Ingold, 2012, Rahaman and Varis, 2005).
In this paper, I argue that similarities between the mining industry’s aspiration towards a catchment-based approach and those of IWRM suggest that analogous coordination challenges could be faced as well as resolved in implementation. An agenda for future research is outlined, highlighting key research questions to address.
Section snippets
Coordination challenges associated with IWRM
The importance of adopting an “integrated” approach to water management was recognized as early as 1977 during the UN Conference on Water in Mar del Plata, Argentina (Rahaman and Varis, 2005). However, it was not until 1992 that IWRM gained prominence in the international community as part of the Rio de Janeiro Summit and the Dublin Conference (Gallego-Ayala, 2013). During the Dublin conference, four guiding principles were developed which strongly influenced the future evolution of the IWRM
Implementing a catchment approach within the mining sector: an analytical framework for identifying challenges and solutions
The mining industry aspires to a catchment-based approach along the lines of the IWRM “soft” solutions whereby industry associations such as the ICMM are encouraging companies to integrate best practice guidelines into their water management strategies. I therefore hypothesize that analogous coordination challenges could be faced during implementation. Research into the communication structures between employees within mining companies has already revealed evidence of silos across
Discussion and conclusion
To summarize, Fig. 4 presents a conceptual diagram to illustrate how the problems of fit, vertical interplay and horizontal interplay may arise during the implementation of catchment-based water strategies within the mining context. Table 2 summarizes how each coordination challenge is faced, describes potential mechanisms for overcoming it, and poses a set of questions to guide future research.
The problem of fit results in two research questions. First, when developing a catchment-based water
Acknowledgements
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2015 Sustainable Development Indicators in the Mining Industry conference, held in Vancouver, Canada (12–15 July 2015). I would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for their encouraging comments. I am also grateful to Carol Bond for her constructive feedback on an earlier draft.
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